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Yeah, yeah. It bore little resemblance to the book. I happen to have an appreciation for really bad sci-fi movies from before the invention of CGI. Also, watching that movie seems to drive me to re-read the books, and I've never read them without finding something that I missed. There's SOOOOO much in them.

Oh, and damn dirty ape, you realize I can poison your beer, right?

Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin

Yeah, yeah. It bore little resemblance to the book. I happen to have an appreciation for really bad sci-fi movies from before the invention of CGI. Also, watching that movie seems to drive me to re-read the books, and I've never read them without finding something that I missed. There's SOOOOO much in them.

Oh, and damn dirty ape, you realize I can poison your beer, right?

Go ahead. I can modify substances I imbibe on a molecular level and make them safe as milk. Or I could simply detect your attempt at Chaumurky with my Snooper. And then I'll bust out some Prana-Bindu moves...

I just totally nerded out in a public forum, didn't I? Damn.

"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell

I happen to have an appreciation for really bad sci-fi movies from before the invention of CGI.

I enjoy the ones that appeared in the dawn of the CGI era, like Tron (although technically it wasn't CGI) and The Last Starfighter. If you ask me, there's nothing like ridiculously inadequate visuals to mix into an already bizarre film.

I hate "Criminal Intent". I love SVU. But as far as this actress is concerned, it is nice to know more and more prominent people are unafraid to talk about the issue of religion and atheism.

Good for her.

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."ObamaCheck out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under BrianJames Rational Poet also on twitter under Brianrrs37

I enjoy the ones that appeared in the dawn of the CGI era, like Tron (although technically it wasn't CGI) and The Last Starfighter. If you ask me, there's nothing like ridiculously inadequate visuals to mix into an already bizarre film.

That's exactly what I'm talking about. I guess, though, when I say CGI, I might not be saying exactly what I mean. I tend not to like effects where computers just put something there that wasn't there in the film. I don't mind some blue screens for backgrounds, but I object to spaceships or creatures that are the subject, not the background, being completely computer rendered. Models and miniatures and old school special effects are where it's at. Give me Hellraiser any day, or Alien, or the original (un-updated) Star Wars.

Speaking of Star Wars, if George Lucas was a real man, he'd have done the three prequels with the same technology as the originals.

Speaking of ridiculous visuals... Krull.

Oh, and let's not forget Beastmaster or Dragonslayer. Those were real movies. Fuck all this comic book CGI nonsense they're coming up with today.

Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin

Yeah, yeah. It bore little resemblance to the book. I happen to have an appreciation for really bad sci-fi movies from before the invention of CGI.

Oh, don't get me wrong! I love good bad scifi; I even enjoy that Dune movie. I just think Lynch should have been forced to remove Herbert's name at jabbar-point.

Did you ever see the SciFi channel's dune minieseries?

I've actually seen the European cut of the miniseries (mit nudity!). I prefer it slightly to the Lynch version, but the costumes make it hard to enjoy at points. They cast a good Jessica, a good Gurney, an OK Paul and a top notch Baron. The Children of Dune miniseries was really solid, in my opinion. James McAvoy was a terrific Leto II.

And I don't mean to come down all that hard on the Lynch version, just Lynch as a human being. The effects are pretty good for their time, though the Wormsign didn't make much sense to me (lightning? why?). MacLachlan was pretty good, Francesca Annis was super hot, Prochnow was properly regal (not enough screen time for either of them), Stewart was a total pro and Sting was creepier than I ever thought he could be. Hell, I even like the Toto soundtrack. The Wierding Modules totally kill it for me though. So stupid.

But back to Alicia Witt. Anybody see the Sopranos episode she did? Mit nudity, indeed!

"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell

MacLachlan was pretty good, Francesca Annis was super hot, Prochnow was properly regal (not enough screen time for either of them), Stewart was a total pro and Sting was creepier than I ever thought he could be. Hell, I even like the Toto soundtrack. The Wierding Modules totally kill it for me though. So stupid.

You know, I could forgive them for the wierding modules. You need good rayguns for sci fi, and all they had in the books were the lasguns, which nobody ever used. The one thing that really upset me about the movie -- ok, the thing that upset me the most -- was how damn girlie Jessica was. She's supposed to be a fucking Bene Gesserit, and she's screaming like a schoolgirl every time something bad happens. She even breaks down and cries at one point. I mean, for fuck's sake, can't we have a strong female character in a movie? Did Lynch read the book?

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But back to Alicia Witt. Anybody see the Sopranos episode she did? Mit nudity, indeed!

It is my considered opinion that virtually any story that has been set to film would benefit from an Alicia Witt nude scene.

Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin

Tell me you actually own this. I might even buy you a non-poisoned beer for a copy. I didn't even know such a thing existed. Nudity makes every miniseries better.

Sure do. I believe it's back in SC, but I'll bring it down next time I head up. I might bring back some non-poisoned Yuengling just to make fucking sure on the beer thing, though. And my maula pistol. It ain't that much nudity to tell the truth. It's mostly Barbara Kodetova, who played Chani. But not a bad looking woman by any means.

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The effects are pretty good for their time, though the Wormsign didn't make much sense to me (lightning? why?).

I'm confused. Are the laws of physics altered or not? I know that lightning strikes occurs with huge dust clouds dispersed in air, like during a volcanic eruption, but I never got the impression that a worm was throwing a lot of sand into the sky. And I don't remember lightning in the books.

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MacLachlan was pretty good, Francesca Annis was super hot, Prochnow was properly regal (not enough screen time for either of them), Stewart was a total pro and Sting was creepier than I ever thought he could be. Hell, I even like the Toto soundtrack. The Wierding Modules totally kill it for me though. So stupid.

You know, I could forgive them for the wierding modules. You need good rayguns for sci fi, and all they had in the books were the lasguns, which nobody ever used. The one thing that really upset me about the movie -- ok, the thing that upset me the most -- was how damn girlie Jessica was. She's supposed to be a fucking Bene Gesserit, and she's screaming like a schoolgirl every time something bad happens. She even breaks down and cries at one point. I mean, for fuck's sake, can't we have a strong female character in a movie? Did Lynch read the book?

Well, maybe these points are linked. Stronger Jessica, no need for weirding modules--she did train the Fremen in her witchy ways originally. As for the rayguns, I thought the whole point of Herbert's inclusion of shielding and the Holtzmann effect was to make rayguns a moot point and create the return to Renaissance style dueling and Napoleonic era warfare, which in turn created the rules of Kanly and such.

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But back to Alicia Witt. Anybody see the Sopranos episode she did? Mit nudity, indeed!

It is my considered opinion that virtually any story that has been set to film would benefit from an Alicia Witt nude scene.

You and redheads. You really must meet my friend Theresa at some point. She's crazy as hell but she's got a thing for shaved heads.

"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell

Body:Hello, Alicia, my name is Josh and I am a moderator on the Rational Responders website message board.Recently we discussed your profile in Variety magazine. We noticed that you had mentioned reading 'god is not great' by Hitchens and it piqued our curiosity as to whether or not you enjoyed it.I'm sure that you can understand how fantastic it would be to have a celebrity such as yourself give us their 'free'-thoughts about the book and any other issues that you find important.Perhaps we could be a distraction from 'profile surfing' for you.The thread discussion about you is located in the 'General Conversation, Introductions, and Humor' forum if you are interested. You have some fans.

Body:Hello, Alicia, my name is Josh and I am a moderator on the Rational Responders website message board.Recently we discussed your profile in Variety magazine. We noticed that you had mentioned reading 'god is not great' by Hitchens and it piqued our curiosity as to whether or not you enjoyed it.I'm sure that you can understand how fantastic it would be to have a celebrity such as yourself give us their 'free'-thoughts about the book and any other issues that you find important.Perhaps we could be a distraction from 'profile surfing' for you.The thread discussion about you is located in the 'General Conversation, Introductions, and Humor' forum if you are interested. You have some fans.

Josh

Nice.

"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell

I'm confused. Are the laws of physics altered or not? I know that lightning strikes occurs with huge dust clouds dispersed in air, like during a volcanic eruption, but I never got the impression that a worm was throwing a lot of sand into the sky. And I don't remember lightning in the books.

Didn't the lightning run across the surface of the desert? That certainly breaks laws of physics. It seems to me that as the worm gets closer to the surface, the force of his movement will break up some of the sand in front of him. Maybe it's loose enough that his passing releases the already built up static? But that still doesn't explain why it stays on the ground, running through sand...

Probably Mr. Lynch didn't intend anyone to give it this much thought.

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You and redheads. You really must meet my friend Theresa at some point. She's crazy as hell but she's got a thing for shaved heads.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever turned down a crazy redhead... The only real issue is that precious few of them ask.

Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin

The lightning is actually mentioned in the book. Either right before or right after their move to Arrakis, Paul has wormsign explained to him by (IIRC) Thufir and Yueh...I think it was Thufir. Whoever it was mentions the enormous static charges that the worms make as they move through the sand, which discharges upwards.

It gets slightly more page space than heartplugs.

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MacLachlan was pretty good, Francesca Annis was super hot, Prochnow was properly regal (not enough screen time for either of them), Stewart was a total pro and Sting was creepier than I ever thought he could be. Hell, I even like the Toto soundtrack. The Wierding Modules totally kill it for me though. So stupid.

You know, I could forgive them for the wierding modules. You need good rayguns for sci fi, and all they had in the books were the lasguns, which nobody ever used. The one thing that really upset me about the movie -- ok, the thing that upset me the most -- was how damn girlie Jessica was. She's supposed to be a fucking Bene Gesserit, and she's screaming like a schoolgirl every time something bad happens. She even breaks down and cries at one point. I mean, for fuck's sake, can't we have a strong female character in a movie? Did Lynch read the book?

I have to take exception to the "rayguns for good scifi" bit. Starship Troopers was GREAT bad scifi; Firefly just plain rocked; Bladerunner, well...'nuff said. You know what, though; since they made such a big deal out of not being able to use shields on Arrakis, why didn't everyone go lasgun crazy? I've always wondered that.

Hear, hear re: wussy Jessica. She should have been just kicking ass and taking names, not nancying around the desert waiting for Paul to kill people. Then again, most BGs would rather convince YOU to kill who they want dead instead of doing it themselves.

They need to make a "Tongue in Cheek" smiley. My tongue was so far in my cheek that I could hardly type. Don't ask how that happens.

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Starship Troopers was GREAT bad scifi;

I invented a drinking game. Give it a shot sometime, but don't blame me for the consequences. I call it the "Denise Richards Is A Bitch" game. Basically, you just get a bottle of tequila, and anytime Denise Richards is a bitch, everyone does a shot.

Oddly, I've never seen the end of this movie...

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You know what, though; since they made such a big deal out of not being able to use shields on Arrakis, why didn't everyone go lasgun crazy?

IIRC, they couldn't use shields because of the worms. Worms eat shields for breakfast. However, Arrakeen was not on open sand. Several sietches were also located on big swaths of rock. In other words, there was an 'official' ban on shields, but lots of people had them. In other words, lasguns are still a really bad thing.

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Then again, most BGs would rather convince YOU to kill who they want dead instead of doing it themselves.

No shit. Those BGs were ruthless bitches, but what I always admired about them was how relentlessly calculating they were. They were never cruel unless there was a perfectly rational reason for it, but neither were they ever nice without a reason. It always struck me as quite a bold thing for Herbert to do -- women are always the weak ones, and here he writes a six book saga with women as a kind of uber-man -- all the strengths of women without any of the weaknesses traditionally ascribed to them.

Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin

They need to make a "Tongue in Cheek" smiley. My tongue was so far in my cheek that I could hardly type. Don't ask how that happens.

Typing wand.

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I invented a drinking game. Give it a shot sometime, but don't blame me for the consequences. I call it the "Denise Richards Is A Bitch" game. Basically, you just get a bottle of tequila, and anytime Denise Richards is a bitch, everyone does a shot.

Oddly, I've never seen the end of this movie...

Yeah, her character was Heinlein Female Archetype XVI (Opportunistic Harpy). Dizz (Female Archetype III: Sexually Liberal Ass-Kicker) for the win. Never mind the fact that the movie was NOTHING like the book, other than in name and rough outline.

Heinlein novels seem almost impossible to turn into movies, although I'd love to see them do it with Tunnel in the Sky.

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You know what, though; since they made such a big deal out of not being able to use shields on Arrakis, why didn't everyone go lasgun crazy?

IIRC, they couldn't use shields because of the worms. Worms eat shields for breakfast.

Yes, shield harmonics make sandworms something something.

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However, Arrakeen was not on open sand. Several sietches were also located on big swaths of rock. In other words, there was an 'official' ban on shields, but lots of people had them. In other words, lasguns are still a really bad thing.

Point well made. There was some mention in the book about the constant high static charge from the sandstorms also having some deleterious effect on shields as well, but that was definitely secondary to their property as a worm magnet.

Coincidentally, I got this pic a while back from a friend:

And never forget:

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Then again, most BGs would rather convince YOU to kill who they want dead instead of doing it themselves.

No shit. Those BGs were ruthless bitches, but what I always admired about them was how relentlessly calculating they were. They were never cruel unless there was a perfectly rational reason for it, but neither were they ever nice without a reason. It always struck me as quite a bold thing for Herbert to do -- women are always the weak ones, and here he writes a six book saga with women as a kind of uber-man -- all the strengths of women without any of the weaknesses traditionally ascribed to them.

I remember someone describing Dune as a book that could simply not get published today, with the heightened sensitivity (on both sides) about Islam. It's sort of funny; I never really considered the characters' genders while reading that, but I did get suspicious as to why Herbert made the most repulsive bad guy gay (and a pedophile, of course, as all gay men are [INSERT TONGUE_IN_CHEEK SMILEY HERE]).

I also had it pointed out to me that if you've read the Dune series, you're already perfectly acquainted with the groups of people in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time world.